History of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Jingle

For more than 65 years, O’Reilly Auto Parts has been a staple in the automotive aftermarket. But for the O’Reilly jingle, a clear adoration has developed over the years.

“A good jingle has a special quality about it,” said Advertising Manager John Richardson, “Something almost annoying, something that sticks in the back of your head.”

O’Reilly was growing fast. In 1989, the 100th O’Reilly Auto Parts store was opened, and by 1993, O’Reilly would become a publicly traded company. After a few iterations, including trying out some different musical styles, the jingle that customers know and love hit the airwaves in 1999.

“It was just one of those things where we needed to come up with something that was catchy, [to] really help O’Reilly Auto Parts distinguish themselves as a national brand,” said Hugo Sanchez, vice president of Marketing & Advertising.

With a dedicated team of O’Reilly team members and local musicians, the creation and journey of the O’O’O’ – O’Reilly began. Little did O’Reilly know that the Company and its contributors would produce one of the most famous and well-known jingles in the nation.

A Great Jingle Takes Root in the Ozarks

Man facing towards speaker in front of a computer with a musical score in the forefront

There are two things that make a great jingle memorable. The first is easy: clearly state the brand name. But the second component is a little more challenging: a good melody. If a jingle is simple and catchy, it can make a lasting impression on customers.

When creating the O’Reilly jingle, the marketing team tapped into the pool of local talent and reached out to John Dillon. Dillon is a founding member of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, a rock band based in Springfield, Missouri, the birthplace of O’Reilly Auto Parts. Together with bandmates Nick Sibley and Steve Cash, they made the first acoustic guitar recording of the O'Reilly jingle using a simple cassette recorder in the '90s. It would be the first of several versions of our jingle.

Over time, Dillon wanted a more polished product for the much-deserving O’Reilly jingle. Dillion enlisted Sibley's recording studio and achieved the production quality he desired, creating the jingle we all know and love.
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An O’Reilly Legacy

Over the years, the O’Reilly jingle has been played millions of times on many radio stations across the nation — but it doesn’t end there. Now, with social media and the rising popularity of online video content, the O’Reilly jingle has become a meaningful part of today’s popular culture and passes something on to the next generation of car lovers and gearheads. “It means people like it and they have an emotional connection,” says Richardson.

In June 2024, O’Reilly continued to set the standard of empowering audio by being named the 2024 Radio Marketer of the Year by the Radio Mercury Awards. Since the original pitch featuring acoustic guitars and cassette players, the famous O’O’O’ – O’Reilly jingle has remained catchy and groovy throughout years of radio, TV, and social media. With decades under its belt and a rich connection with our customers, Sanchez is positive the O’Reilly jingle isn’t going away anytime soon.
Jingle mascot listening to music sitting on a couch

“Every time we’ve tested it, we’ve always come back to the original jingle. That’s the one that people enjoy — that’s the one that people love.”

The O’Reilly jingle lives rent-free in the hearts and minds of millions, some of whom may have never stepped foot in one of our stores – but almost certainly for those who have visited us for parts, tools, or advice on their project. Just like O’Reilly started life as a single midwestern auto parts store in 1957, our jingle has taken on a life of its own. Through a variety of rarely heard jingle versions, to countless posts on social media platforms, those three syllables have gotten a lot of mileage.
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